UTICA, NY - The Utica University softball team will begin a jam-packed week as the team hits the road for eight games between Wednesday and Sunday. The Pioneers will travel to Schenectady, NY to take on Union College on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m and will serve as the home team for both games. Utica will then head out to Buffalo, NY for a doubleheader against Medaille College at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Thursday before picking up Empire 8 action against St. John Fisher on Saturday and Nazareth College on Sunday, both at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers split an Empire 8 doubleheader against Russell Sage College on Friday, dropping game one 2-1, and taking game two 12-7. In game one, Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) broke up a Sage no-hitter in the fifth with a double, which was then followed by a Alyssa Barbato (Rhinebeck, NY/Rhinebeck ) RBI single to cut the deficit to one. Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester ) matched a career-high with eight strikeouts, and the two hits from Sacks and Barbato ended up being the only two hits Utica had in game one. In game two, it was a much different story for the Pioneers, as the team used home runs from Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie), and both of the Paul sisters (Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) and Lauren Paul (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland)). Younger sister Lauren led the way for Utica, totaling two hits, one run scored and five RBIs, while older sister Kaitlyn was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored and two RBIs. A five-run fifth helped Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) earn her third win of the season.
 
Conference Outlook: At 11-15 (4-4 E8), the Pioneers are currently fourth in the Empire 8 Conference. Alfred 15-12 (6-2 E8) is first, St. John Fisher 10-14 (6-2 E8) sits second, and Nazareth 12-14 (5-5 E8) round out the top-three. The top-four teams in the conference will compete in the double-elimination conference tournament that will be hosted by the top-seed. 
 
Plat Consistency: A large part of the Pioneers' success has come from the batter's box. The team currently has four players who are batting over .300 on the season. Senior Emily Joss (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) leads the team batting .377 (ninth in E8), senior Kaitlyn Paul (Albany, NY/Guilderland) is second batting .346, freshman Abigail Sacks (Colonie, NY/Colonie) is third batting .325 and sophomore Julia Phelps (Waterford, NY/Shenendehowa High School) is fourth on the team batting .301. 
 
Pioneers' Pitching: Two of Utica's pitchers have played a significant role for the team this season. Freshman Kylie Murray (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester ) is currently 8-6 on the season, with 59 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA. Murray's 8 wins and 11 complete games place her second in the Empire 8 in both those categories. Junior Jordyn Conte (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley High School) is currently 3-4 on the season with 30 strikeouts and a 1.80 WHIP. 
 
Scouting Union: Union is 12-8 overall and 2-6 in Liberty League action. The team has posted a .295 batting average and averages just over five runs per contest. Karson Saunders leads the team with a .477 batting average as well as with six home runs and 23 runs driven in. In the circle, Union has a 3.05 team ERA with Jessie Rooney leading the unit with a 6-4 record and a 2.16 ERA. Utica is 13-15 all-time against Union and have taken each of the last 10 games. 
 
Scouting Medaille: The Mavericks are currently 18-10 and 7-3 in the AMCC. Five different players own a .300 or better batting average on a team that hits .282 as a whole. Camryn Adimey leads the way hitting .356 while Medaille as a unit is not much of a power threat, totaling three home runs as a team this year. Kaitlyn Alguire leads the pitching unit with a 9-6 record and a 3.00 ERA over 20 appearances. This will be the first all-time meeting between the future Empire 8 opponents. 
 
Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are 10-14 overall this season and are ties for first place in the Empire 8 with a 6-2 record. Fisher has batted .290 as a team this season, second best in the E8, while Allison Rogowski is seventh in the conference hitting .425 as well as tied for third with three home runs. Teammate Allie Klonowski is a major power threat, leading the conference with eight long balls. The team's 4.64 ERA sits seventh in the league while Ainsley Evanetski leads the team with a 5-3 mark and a 3.64 ERA which is ranked 10th in the conference. 
 
Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are currently 12-14 overall and sit in third place in the Empire 8 at 5-5 within the conference. Nazareth owns the third highest batting average in the E8 at .282 with Sarah Simmons topping the team at .447 which is the third best mark in the Empire 8. The pitching staff also ranks third in the league with a 4.03 ERA while Emily Daciw (6-6, 3.19 ERA) and Maddie Funk (5-8, 4.41 ERA) have split duties, each having tossed 79 innings this season. 

Up Next: Utica will remain on the road as the team travels to nearby Hamilton College for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 27.